Washington: American Airlines flights were cleared to fly by regulators on Tuesday after being briefly grounded due to a systemwide technical issue. The grounding was ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration just before 7 am Eastern time at the airline's request.
The technical issue, which impacted American Airlines' entire system, occurred during a busy travel period with millions of passengers on the move for the holiday.
Why flights were grounded?
According to the statement issued by the airlines, the flights were grounded due to an unspecified technical issue. Shares of the carrier were down 3.8% before the bell. "An estimated timeframe has not been provided, but they're trying to fix it in the shortest possible time," the company said in a post on X, responding to a question from a stranded flyer.
The Federal Aviation Administration posted a nationwide ground stop order for all American flights, according to an advisory notice.
The grounding occurred with millions of travelers expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays and through January 2.
(With AP inputs)
